Regulation had already ended and a second overtime was looming large for Longmont and Fairview girls basketball in Longmont’s gym on Tuesday night.

Fairview power forward Alice Rowe wouldn’t have it.

Just before the buzzer sounded to end the first extra period, Rowe lobbed up a prayer from the post. It fell right through the net, followed by a mob of Fairview’s bench players. The Knights outlasted a gritty Longmont team in a 36-35 finale that could have gone much differently had the Trojans made more of their free throws down the stretch. The victory pushed the Knights to 6-2 on the season, a year after winning just eight contests.

“I just saw my teammate throw it and I was like, I can get it,” Rowe said. “I just went up as fast as I could because I didn’t know how much time was left. It was so exciting and my teammates all kept running on the court.”

Though Fairview commanded much of the game leading up to that point, the Trojans put themselves in prime position to win when it counted most. Longmont trailed by as much as nine points, 21-12, at the start of the second quarter, and didn’t close that gap much before the break came to pass.

Thanks to a little charity — four straight trips to the foul line — they were able to close that gap completely and force overtime with 30 points apiece. They just couldn’t keep that energy going into overtime.

“It was pretty physical. I was on the ground a few times, hit my head a few times,” Longmont junior Terra Brubaker said. “We all pushed as hard as we could. We kept trusting each other and playing with each other instead of just throwing up shots. We really just pushed as hard as we could no matter what the result was.”

Brubaker finished the game with 10 points, almost entirely on free throws, and was only bested by senior teammate Kaila Patterson, who put up 13 before fouling out at the end of regulation.

The performance provided a sharp contrast to the Trojans’ 2024 portion of their slate, which saw them losing by double-digits in each of their setbacks.

They now sit at 2-7 but are moving in the right direction. “We definitely have put together plays, communicated more,” Brubaker said. “We’re definitely building up as a team, putting brick by brick, and we’re just pushing harder than ever.”

The Knights spread the ball out a bit more, with four players scoring six or more thanks to Rowe (nine), senior Lucy Michaels (seven), junior Julia Savage (seven) and Olivia Soto (six).

Rowe believed that the victory to start the new year will only bode well for her Knights down the line, when they wade more into league play.

Fairview heads next to Legacy on Friday night, and Longmont will make the short trip to Niwot on the same night.

“I love our team dynamic this year and how we share the ball, pass the ball, and we’re super unselfish,” Rowe said. “I think it’s great to get a win right after a break. It builds our confidence and just shows us how we really can compete.”